A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 72
* * *
The night Melissa returned, Sezare was equally occupied.
“W-what?”
Ranaq blinked in bewilderment upon hearing Sezare’s instructions.
“My lord! You said you and the Princess would simply use each other without deeper involvement, didn’t you?”
Ranaq poured out his words in utter confusion, unable to comprehend.
“Prince Avian is quite a good man, unlike Lord Rodrigo. So wouldn’t it be fine if things worked out between him and the Princess? But why are you going this far with Prince Avian…?”
“That statement.”
Sezare spoke quietly, gazing out the window.
“I was wrong.”
“P-pardon?”
“We won’t simply use each other without deeper involvement.”
“Then, then what?”
Ranaq started to ask in shock, but was dragged away by the other servants. They all muttered to the bewildered Ranaq things like “Goodness, how can you be so oblivious!” and “Did you really believe that all this time?”
Sezare gazed at the round full moon with narrowed eyes.
From the moment I parted with Kiana in the banquet hall, I found myself yearning for her. I thought that dancing the first dance and feeding her delicious things would be enough to satisfy the innocent first love of my boyhood. Yet instead, my thirst only deepened.
I had merely thought it acceptable to indulge somewhat in fulfilling what I once dreamed of as a boy, but I could not awaken from that dream. Worse, when Avian suggested to Kiana just now that she could use him as a fake lover—I felt a profound displeasure I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Why was that?
Avian Risineus is a good man. I acknowledge that myself. Yet I despise Avian standing beside Kiana. That simple emotion pointed to one clear truth.
I had sworn as I fell from the cliff that I would never love another person, never trust anyone. Yet when did Kiana become the sole exception?
“May the Crown Prince return safely and ascend the throne without incident.”
Was it when I witnessed her praying sincerely for his wellbeing?
“Where is the Temple’s final sacred relic?”
“It’s over there, but w-why are you asking that?”
“For the Crown Prince’s sake.”
Was it when I saw her drinking with Mayer in that filthy place for my sake?
Sezare laughed softly. Tracing back further and further, ultimately it came down to…
“Imperial Capital Post Box 1135.”
“…What?”
“After a very long time has passed, secretly write the address there for correspondence. It’s dangerous, so you should also create a post box in secret. I will inform you of my survival when I can finally hide completely. Then there will be no lingering unease, yes?”
Even right after falling from the cliff, I had given her a way to contact me laced with lingering attachment, hadn’t I? Though Kiana herself didn’t seem particularly curious about it.
What good is it to keep telling myself in my mind that we are merely using each other? Even in that moment when I despised humanity most, I could not shake my attachment to Kiana.
Even six years later, when we reunited for the first time, it was the same. With others, I surrounded my face with an aura so they would forget my appearance instantly. Yet with Kiana, I deliberately did not use an aura. I knew that traces of my childhood features remained, and if one looked carefully, they might recognize me. Or perhaps… I actually wanted her to recognize me.
Of course, Kiana did not recognize me at all. Well, she had poor observational skills to begin with, and six years ago she showed no interest in the Crown Prince’s features, so it was only natural.
But that was the essence of unrequited love. I could recognize the other person by a single note of their voice even in deepest despair, yet no matter how many hints I gave, they could not recognize me.
That unrequited love deepened the closer I drew to her, and now I could no longer control the surging emotions. Far deeper and more dangerous than when I was a helpless boy from afar, and now tinged with a possessiveness that was both secret and consuming.
So Sezare decided to stop this futile self-deception.
“Do not miss the approaching new light, ever.”
My first love still approached me as my new light.
“But what shall I do, Princess?”
Sezare gazed out the window with a fierce smile.
“I’m no longer that naive young man satisfied with merely watching from the shadows.”
Sezare began to naturally recall the moment when he had first harbored feelings for Kiana, so long ago.
* * *
Crown Prince Edmund first began using Aura when he was six years old—a true genius recognized from the very moment his sense of self took form.
His innate character was so excellent that he never indulged in arrogance, earning the love and expectations of those around him. The vast and splendid Imperial Palace was his playground, and he was constantly busy greeting admirers whenever he attended social gatherings.
Back when the Emperor was still in good health, the Imperial Palace was always bustling with people. There were countless events, and the entry of nobles was not heavily restricted.
It was spring when Edmund was eleven years old, still enjoying such a bright and warm childhood. The Riloni Academy visited the Imperial Palace with a sample clock tower to be installed there.
The clock tower had various functions for children, so all the high-ranking noble families’ children were invited to a tea reception and presentation. In reality, it was little more than promotional marketing aimed at other noble houses.
The clock tower had the function of announcing the time by releasing different toys according to children’s voices. A professor from the Academy enthusiastically explained this function to the children.
“So, we at Riloni Academy have added this function to the clock tower using our patented Erat-Kahi method….”
That was when a small girl raised her hand among the children who were happily eating cookies and observing the clock tower’s toys.
“I have a question. How does the Erat-Kahi method distinguish between voices?”
“…Yes?”
“Amplitude? Frequency? Waveform? Or all three?”
“….”
The girl with pink hair, jade-green eyes, and a light blue checkered dress was Kiana Prelai. Edmund knew of her as the youngest princess of House Prelai, but they had no personal connection. She had never been close to anyone.
It was the first time she had made her presence known at such an event, having previously only filled a seat before quietly slipping away. And without question, the only person at that gathering who understood Kiana’s question was the professor explaining.
“That’s a trade secret, so I cannot disclose it.”
The professor spoke with a gentle smile.
“However, if you carefully combine the rules by which the toys move with the conditions of the Erat-Kahi method, you should be able to find hints.”
The conversation between Kiana and the professor ended there.
Kiana had wanted the clock tower, but her wish was not granted. Hiton had taken such a liking to it that he declared, “I will pay five times the price if it is installed only in the Imperial Palace.” After that, he claimed the clock tower was beautiful when viewed from a distance and had it installed on a nearby hill outside the Imperial Palace.
Of course, Edmund had little interest in such matters. However, by coincidence, the clock tower was located near the external training grounds where Edmund practiced swordsmanship during spring. The Knights’ Order held special training every spring, so young Edmund had to vacate the external training grounds.
And every time Edmund practiced swordsmanship, he could see Kiana sitting quietly in front of the clock tower. She sat like a painting, gazing at the clock tower lost in thought. Sometimes she would bring parchment and a quill pen, scribbling incomprehensible formulas by herself.
‘…It’s afternoon, but she doesn’t eat snacks? Isn’t she cold dressed like that? It’s still the changing season—shouldn’t someone give her a warm beverage?’
Seeing her like this every day, Edmund found himself strangely concerned, so he secretly had a servant bring her warm tea. And young Kiana stared directly at the servant and said:
“You’re distracting my thoughts. Do I look like I’m sitting here leisurely sipping tea?”
“….”
Indeed, she was a girl whose character showed signs of being as yellow as rumored.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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